Many polymers are not inherently thermally conducting (i.e. Viton GF) and have the potential to improve their thermal conductive properties by introducing fillers into the polymer matrix. In the past, filler materials, including copper particles (or flakes or needles), aluminum oxide, nano-alumina, titanium oxide, silver flakes, aluminum nitride, nickel particles, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride, have been introduced into the polymer matrices in order to improve their thermal conductivities.
Although these thermally conductive polymer matrices have been used in electrophotography, for example, for fusing operation, there is still a great interest in finding other filler materials that would significantly improve the properties of the polymer matrices. For example, composite materials having significantly improved thermal conductivities can reduce run temperatures and can also increase fuser component life. In addition, it is also desired to provide polymer matrices that can reduce paper edge wear of fuser members, since paper edge wear reduces fuser life and causes a high cost.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide material compositions with improved thermal, mechanical and/or electrical properties for members used in electrophotographic printing devices and processes.